USS Panay incident

The USS Panay incident occurred on 12 December 1937 when Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service planes bombed the US Navy gunboat USS Panay on the Yangtze River near the city of Nanking, China. The Panay had been sent to protect innocent civilians in the city during the Second Sino-Japanese War, and the Japanese aircraft did not see the flags on the ship, leading them to believe that it was a Chinese ship. 3 Americans were killed and 43 wounded, and Japan had to pay an indemnity to the United States and issue an official apology in order to lower tensions. The incident turned American public opinion against Japan, ultimately leading to World War II.